Everything
by sugar-coated peppermint
Summary: Three words changed everything and started the game. "I am L." Just how different does the game become when those three words aren't initially said?
1. Fascinating

**AN:** I do not own the rights to the characters or whatever the official thing is. Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata do. I, however, own much too large a vocabulary but lack a single ounce of social skills, and hope I transferred that well to L (that totally rhymed. Ha.).

-~-

**Everything  
1: Fascinating**

-~-

Light felt the strange presence behind him even as he stepped down the carpeted steps back among the plebeians who were in awe of his dominating glory, and perhaps disgusted at this creature of a man who was now much too close behind him.

"Light Yagami?" the voice asked, just as monotone as it had been as it delivered a speech from a blank piece of paper. Light turned his head just a fraction to acknowledge the flat black eyes hovering over his shoulder.

"Yes?" he asked in response.

A wide-eyed blink. The action seemed unnatural for someone with such strange eyes. "Good job," the voice said, flawless Japanese with no accent whatsoever.

That was it? He was expecting something different from this peculiar man with an aura that made him paranoid in ways that generally only came when Ryuk was hovering right over his shoulder.

"You too," he answered, voice even and not displaying any of his suspicions about...well, what was he suspicious about? What was there to be suspicious about?

They sat down as the new speaker, someone among those in charge of To-oh, started his own speech. The weird man, Ryuuga supposedly, pulled his knees to his chest in the same motion he used to draw his feet--bony and large, Light noticed, and he then wondered why he noticed--out of shoes that were maybe a month away from falling apart completely.

Who came to a function like _this_ dressed like _that_? Light pondered this for a moment, finding this abnormal thing next to him much more captivating that the speech. It was strangely ironic, as this speech was delivered with a tone that was excited and enthusiastic. Somehow the speech the abnormality gave was more interesting despite the fact that it was delivered with a tone that made the speaker sound like he couldn't care less.

Despite his relatively obvious staring, the man, the strange man, paid no attention to Light. He had to admit, this was relatively annoying. Most people found his dominating personality captivating and blushed or stuttered if they realized he was staring at them. This person's aura was meshing with his in ways that forced for dominance, and he realized that the neighbor to Ryuuga's left had eyes that were straying between the two of them.

He glanced to his immediate right and realized that his more normal neighbor was doing the same thing, but he blushed and turned away when Light raised an eyebrow.

So, their silent interaction had an audience. How strange.

"Ah, Ryuuga?" Light asked when the current speaker bowed and stepped back to thunderous applause, well aware that nobody other than the intended receiver of the inquiry would hear him. Instantly, those black orbs snapped to his, betraying absolutely nothing. Neither of the two were clapping, he realized, and in the interest of public image, he halfheartedly put his hands together while maintaining eye contact.

What an unsettling stare. It was bad enough when he was behind Light, but now that they were face to face it was just plain creepy. He leaned in, too, as if he was about to reveal a great secret, and that also unsettled him. Too close, he realized, for a normal conversation.

"Yagami?" the abnormality asked in return, eyes not betraying any emotion. He also did not follow Light's example and clap. Completely oblivious to how others observed him. Too close, he remembered again as he realized he could see the slight red veins in the man's too-wide eyes.

"I think you're supposed to wear shoes here," he said as filler for what he had somehow forgotten. Why was talking to this man so different from talking to anyone else? He normally could make almost anyone think anything with a few words, even if he had just woken up and wasn't thinking straight. However, trying to communicate with this freak of a man made his thoughts curve in strange directions and also made him want to look over his shoulder for the axe murderer that this man might have placed behind him. Maybe that was why he was so close, so he would see blood spattered everywhere.

That would be an awkward end to Kira.

"Nobody has informed me of this uspoken rule and nobody has cared to correct my flippancy," was the simple response, and his eyes snapped back to the current speaker with glassiness that indicated he was not paying any attention. So it seemed, at any rate. He leaned back into his chair, and Light relaxed and was slightly surprised to find that he had tensed under the strange man's observation.

They did not talk the rest of the ceremony, and the moment it was over, Ryuuga jumped down from his chair, slid his shoes on, and shuffled out of the assembly room. His messy black hair rather instantly vanished in the crowd, and Light considered following him briefly.

"What did you think of that kid?" Ryuk asked innocently from directly behind Light, who jumped slightly.

"He's odd," Light responded quietly, also sliding through the masses of students. The tuft of black hair stood out not five feet away quite suddenly, and Light couldn't help but start to follow it. He felt frankly foolish, especially as he was ignoring professors and fellow students' congratulations in favor of following the abnormality. "I'm almost certain Ryuuga Hideki is an alias. It's not a common name, and it almost seems like he's flaunting it, also as if he's trying to point out to Kira that he can't be killed so easily. He must have a good amount of power, to be able to enter a university under a false name…"

Ryuk chuckled, and Light knew he was right. He emerged out of the crowd, which was now congregating around a very nice black Bentley, into which the abnormality ducked rather rapidly and shut the door almost violently.

It started up and drove off, and Light was left feeling marginally safer and also mightily confused. Why was this man using an alias, and why did he make Light so blatantly nervous?

-~-

L smiled slightly through the tinted glass as a few students gave him bug-eyed looks. They were probably not expecting such an eccentric person to be financially well-off. Watari, in the front seat, chuckled slightly at the bewildered faces before gently pressing his foot to the pedal and easing off.

A hint of distaste twisted his features as it was so damn slow...Watari honestly drove like an old man.

Then again, the first time L had been allowed to drive a car, he had been pulled over and had only gotten out of being arrested for driving while intoxicated with a phone call to the highest up authority figure acknowledged in the country on speed dial.

Somehow he had forgotten that in America, you drive on the _right_ side of the road. And that 55 did not equal 70. And blinkers were there for a reason.

Yes, Watari had never let him drive again.

This reflection was happening at the same time the ten-track mind contemplated the potential for Light Yagami to be Kira based on the slight interaction they had.

Personally, L found Light's behaviour disturbing. The files seemed to have him listed as a perfect son, student, brother, whatever the situation was. He certainly seemed that way while delivering his speech. Perfectly relaxed, but at the same time, he acted just humble enough to not seem conceited.

L threw his speech together at the last second, warping some of what Light said to make it sound different, and delivering it in his own apathetic way that probably got more attention than the enthusiastic speeches that followed. Most speeches seemed to get the same thing across, so long as it was not in government. Government was where things got icky, where appearances were everything, and where people were expected to wear _shoes_. Horrible.

Even during L's speech, Light had seemed fine. It was when they were close, when L fell into a habit he didn't actually know he had. Interaction was a strange thing, he had learned. Watari, who had known him from age five, learned to accept L's abnormalities before L completely realized that they were strange. He didn't even blink when L leaned in not an inch from the older man's face for impersonal interactions, and distanced himself for utterly personal conversations.

And having no interaction with anybody other than Watari, he had to admit that he had accidently learned to believe that his quirks were in some way normal. So in a completely impersonal environment, he had not hesitated to hover just behind Light's shoulder as he congraulated him.

Light had taken two seconds to respond. It was one and a half seconds too long. Light had overthought it, perhaps he had been expecting something else? Close interaction was, according to the slightly uncomfortable body language displayed by the Yagami boy, the way his fingers and neck tensed almost unnoticeably, apparently meant to be more personal. About more awkward topics, like murders and drugs. And rape.

Yes, L decided in one of the tracks of his mind, he spent too much time around these sorts of cases. At least Kira was something not as dark, having a heart attack would not be something a dramatic novel would be written about, which had happened already with murders, drugs, and rape.

At any rate, he really _hoped_ nobody would ever write a sappy story revolving around a heart attack. A large part of him would probably die inside.

In the part of his mind that was still focusing on analyzing Light's actions, he thought back to when Light had reprimanded him about his lack of shoes. It was clear he had meant to say something different, but the slight, ever slight, blush that was not quite on his cheeks but closer to his ears seemed to indicate that he had forgotten and was annoyed that he had forgotten.

He also had tensed again when L leaned in unconsciously, as this was not a personal conversation and he had no problems with getting close. He seemed to base his assumptions around social formalities, and L was apparently defying a very common one that was rarely usurped.

The fact that he had followed L was what made the least sense. Curiousity was the most likely cause, and as L had not revealed his identity, it was difficult to see Kira's hands in this. Difficult, but not impossible. Light was obviously much more paranoid than the files or observation would lead anyone to believe. In his paranoia, he could have very well suspected L of being, well..._L_, and wanted to make this theory concrete.

Then again, the odds of this being true were probably superfluous in the face of simple facts: Light was shockingly intelligent and had probably never encountered anyone as intelligent, he thrived on knowledge, and in the aftermath of the ceremony had next to no choice as to what direction to wander off to.

He pondered why he did not want to write the brief instance of stalking as pure coincidence in a part of his mind that was begging for something to do, came up with no answer except that he truly desired to solve the case, and rather abruptly found the part of his mind feeling rather empty again.

The rest of it was thankfully full, however, and he decided to read up on controlling one's body language and societal normalities. Perhaps he could make Light uncomfortable enough to reveal something compromising.

Watari pulled into the latest hotel, a four star but still ritzy seventeen story building with excellent cheesecake available via room service. He permitted his mind to trail off into more blissful thoughts regarding aforementioned cheesecake, but still kept a good portion of it focused on the Kira case. More specifically on Light, and what he could learn from interaction with the younger man.

Besides, he found the teen rather fascinating.

-~-

**AN: **Cheesecake is a gift of God. Coming from an atheist, that means a lot. Seriously.

-Pepper


	2. Stare

**AN: **Still don't own rights to the characters and whatnot. I have dyslexia though, does that count? No? Damn.

-~-

**Everything  
2: Stare**

-~-

The sunlight perfectly silhouetted the brick facade of the building Light was gazing at, Ryuk occupying the space directly over his shoulder and bookbag slung over the other.

"So, you're a college student now. That's kinda exciting," Ryuk said directly in his ear. Light allowed his distaste at the proximity to make itself known in his facial features. "Oh, don't be like that," Ryuk muttered, backing off slightly.

Light set off at a brisk pace for his first class, Psychology 201. Assuming everything went to plan, a serial rapist would be dead in three minutes, an hour later a burglar would join him, and the pattern would continue. And he had the perfect alibi of being at school, which would hopefully suffice if L had someone tail him again.

Speaking of being tailed, he slowed down as he practically felt someone's gaze on him. "Ryuk, is someone following me again?" he whispered, moving his lips as little as possible. Ryuk glanced around.

"Nope," he responded. "You're just being paranoid again." Light frowned at the "again", which he considered rather unnecessary at this point. He was only paranoid if the situation most certainly called for it. And as Kira, who was being hunted by the single greatest detective in the world, the situation most certainly did call for it. He continued on his way to the classroom, keeping an absent eye out for anyone watching him too avidly.

The class was simple enough. He listened with one ear, listened in on the bass of whatever the girl next to her was listening to through her concealed earbuds with his other ear, gazed out the window with most of his vision, and kept track of what was being written on the board with his peripheral vision. The first day of school was always the most boring. All that ever truly happened was that they went over the course syllabus and the expectations for the class, which generally barely varied between classes.

However, the way his mind was practically split in four made it even easier to notice the feeling of eyes on his face. He glanced away from the window, and instantly met the heavy set black eyes of Ryuuga, the abnormality. Not three seats away, the fellow student sat crouched in his chair, shoes under his chair and thumbnail in his mouth.

Usually when people were caught staring, they glanced away and didn't dare to look back until they were certain that the object of their fixation was not aware of them anymore. Not so with the abnormality. He simply stared back with a collected, cold, and calculating expression. After mentally kicking himself for the alliteration, Light effortlessly arranged his features into an almost-mirror of his expression, but with a bit of confusion in the quirk of one eyebrow.

It was returned with a millimeter rise of the left side of Ryuuga's lips, a half smile that did not meet his eyes in the slightest. It was faked, but so subtle and small that it was more eerie that it was faked, not annoying. Either way, Light continued to meet his eyes, a staring contest that allowed blinking.

"Ryuuga!" the teacher, Itsaku-sensei barked suddenly. "Sit properly in your chair!" Ryuuga turned his heavy blank eyes on the teacher and tipped his head to the side slightly, toes curling in around the edge of the chair. The teacher tried to stare him down for maybe ten seconds, then frowned, pursed his lips, and continued reiterating a point regarding personal safety that had already been made three times, if Light's memory served. It always did, and was almost always correct.

Almost the moment Itsaku-sensei turned, Ryuuga's eyes were back on Light's and he struggled not to look away. Now the weight was more of a taunting weight, daring him to act different than yesterday, to not be the polite perfection he had grown used to acting as. He uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, this action completely unconscious. But he kept his eyes on Ryuuga's, staring him down even as he tried to puzzle out just why he needed to stare him down.

Why did it feel like Ryuuga was taunting him?

The bell rang, and Light calmly collected his backpack, stuck his pencil behind his ear for the sake of simplicity, and headed out the door. Ryuuga followed almost directly behind him, hovering over his shoulder, and Light mentally cursed Ryuk for leaving the space vacated.

"What class do you have next, Yagami-kun?" the monotone voice asked in his ear. Again, Light turned his head a few degrees to meet the eyes of the man who was starting to feel rather annoyingly like a stalker. Hell, he could feel the man's breathing on his cheek!

He checked his watch. The burglar had died two minutes ago; he had three minutes to get to his next class, which was just across the quad. His next class was English. "English, Ryuuga," he responded coolly, turning to face the building, which was already in sight. Ryuuga's head tipped slightly to the right, and Light felt where his cool breath reached just above his ear.

"How odd," he said softly. Light resisted the urge to groan. That was _it_? No other explanation? "Class 305?" Light almost actually _did_ groan. This stalker of a man had the same English class as he did. Great. Another class long staring contest. His eyes almost felt sore.

"Yes," he said, keeping his irritation out of his voice with practiced discipline. He got a lot of that practice from high school. Those people who tried to become his friends just to take advantage of him, his almost real friends who never understood what he meant, the teachers who coddled him like a treasure despite the fact that he was more than capable of taking care of himself...a lot of the practice came from his family, too. As much as he loved Sayu, she could be annoying at times. And his parents were very similar to his teachers in the limits they set, wanting him to stay safe and inside and study so he became even smarter, that cram school, everything regarding his intelligence tended to annoy him.

"What a coincidence," Ryuuga breathed. Vaguely, Light wondered if he had planned this.

The only thing that set English apart from Psychology was that every word was in English. He actually paid attention to the teacher this time, both for the purpose of catching every word, and to have a reason to not look at Ryuuga, who had decidedly assumed his strange crouch on the chair right next to him. Halfway through the lesson, he pulled a small lollipop out of his pocket, unwrapped it noisily, and stuck it in his mouth.

"Yagami-kun has very good English," he noted after the class, this time occupying Light's other shoulder. His breath now smelled like cherries, and his voice was slightly distorted by the lollipop. Light turned his head more than usual to look back at him, slightly surprised.

"What makes you think that? I didn't speak at all."

The left corner of Ryuuga's lips turned up again in the cruel but eerie mockery of a smile. "It was quite clear Yagami-kun has good English because he did not once appear confused as the teacher explained the syllabus. Most of the other students were squirming and writing it down in Japanese. Either Yagami-kun is an extremely good actor, or he knows English." He leaned back, glancing up at the slightly cloudy sky, thumb at his lips. "And I am inclined to believe both..." He leaned forward again, and Light realized that he had relaxed when the abnormality pulled away, because he almost immediately tensed up again. He berated himself for the action and tried to relax.

"I suppose that makes sense," he said, controlling his voice. This time, both corners of Ryuuga's lips turned up, but the mock smile was no less eerie.

"Yagami-kun just proved my hypothesis. Everything I just said was in English."

Light could only blink in surprise. Firstly because he hadn't caught the language switch, secondly because Ryuuga was..._testing_ him. And it fit him, Light realized, as he seemed like the type to continually test people.

"By chance is Yagami-kun's next class Religion and Ethics 202?"

Barely hiding a grimace behind a look of mild surprise, Light answered. "Yes, it is."

-~-

At this point, L was honestly grateful that he had never actually gone to college. He was almost regretting coming to the university today, anyway. The classes were merely reiterating what had already been said at the one previous, perhaps with a few minor specifications or in the case of a foreign language class, in a different language. English would probably be the most interesting class all day, and that would probably be because the teacher had an entertaining accent.

Religion and Ethics also had the potential to be intriguing, but certainly not today. He found Light's small gestures and the faces he made at some of the concepts the teacher said they would be going over much more entertaining than what the teacher was droning on about. The face he made as the teacher mentioned "The True Concept of Justice" was probably the most interesting. His lips pursed just enough that L was able to notice, and his brow furrowed down maybe two millimeters. Barely noticeable, but still, L caught it. And he filed it away that Light found others' opinions of justice an uncomfortable topic.

L thought justice an uncomfortable topic in a way, too. Mostly because he didn't truly believe in it. Justice did not solve things, even though there was justice, things still happened in the streets where Justice simply could not reach them, and according to Critias's _Sisyphus_, this was why religion had been invented, to terrify those who performed crimes in secret into submission to the law. L would have found this fitting, if he believed in a God.

He wondered whether Light believed in a God. There was nothing about a religion in his files, and Soichiro Yagami had admitted that his family was not overly religious. But Light also looked uncomfortable when the teacher mentioned that they would be studying many of the world's different religions, and in a rather different way than when they were discussing justice.

The most unguarded face L saw the entire day was when a little girl whose hair was bleached blonde to the point where it would probably fall out raised her hand and asked quietly: "Are we going to be talking about Kira?" Light, for the briefest of moments, looked downright proud. The slight, _real_ smile that seemed too devious to be real yet somehow was appeared and the light suddenly made his eyes look red, but then it was gone, replaced by that quiet look of neutrality.

When the teacher answered with a slightly uncomfortable "Yes," it returned for a whole quarter of a second before vanishing again. L allowed his curiousity to show by tipping his head slightly and widening his eyes slightly more. In his research last night, he'd discovered that those were the main things he himself did when curious, and though they were not common, he knew it would take time for practicing to make his gestures more common. He did not have time; already thirty-six criminals had died since he entered To-Oh with Light Yagami.

Light picked up on his curiousity much faster than L expected him to. From his peripheral vision, even, his chocolate brown eyes flickered to him almost a whole second after he allowed his curiousity to be indicated. While L had noticed his gestures much sooner, most people probably would not have even noticed the minute tip and half-millimeter widening, let alone from their peripheral vision.

There were no other indications of curiousity or even of real emotion, except boredom but that was to be expected from a genius, for the rest of the class. When it was over, L resumed his shoulder-hovering. It seemed to make Light uncomfortable, and he found that both fascinating and useful. Especially the way he simply _took_ it, and didn't voice his awkwardness. He didn't understand why, despite his research into the topic. Lunch was next, and it was time to make his second real move, after entering the same University and taking the same classes.

"Does Yagami-kun mind if I eat with him?" he asked, blinking slightly innocently. Light did the little head-turning-look-out-the-corner-of-eye-and-turn-back-around movement again, before letting out a quiet breath that L wouldn't have caught if it wasn't for the proximity. He chalked this up as another advantage to remaining so close, and patiently waited for an answer.

Social normalities did not deny an honest request to enjoy a meal with another. There was a seven percent chance that Light would deny him, but the chances of that having a legitimate excuse were less than half a percent. He knew Light's schedule well, at school it was the exact same as his own.

"Fine with me," he said airily, and L effortlessly kept a grin from staging a coup of his features. Only three times in his life had he let a smile come onto his face without explicit permission. They went to the nearest restaurant and Light ordered a small plate of sushi and a small bag of consommé potato chips. L got a candy bar and a bag of marshmallows from a nearby vending machine, and they sat down at the same table.

Mentally, L counted down the moments until Light would become awkward and attempt "small talk". 7...6...5...He finished his miniature temple of marshmallows and leaned back, rather pleased with himself...4...3...2...1...0. He glanced up at Light, surprised that he had not started talking yet, then was disappointed when he found Light's mouth to be full of sushi. He decided to take it upon himself to begin a conversation, as he was impatient.

"So, Yagami-kun, I noticed that you seemed excited when Kashi-sensei mentioned we would be studying Kira..."

-~-

**AN: **"Om nom nom" all you want Light, you'll have to answer eventually. Ahaha.

-Pepper


	3. Games

**AN: **If I had rights to the characters, the universe would implode and Matsuda would be blonde. That is all. Oh, and thankies to The Serial Typist for pointing out an error in my logic back in chapter 1. It's been kinda fixed, and you win awesome points.

Holy inferiority complex, Batman! It starts in L's section!

-~-

**Everything  
3: Games**

-~-

The unasked question hung in the air, like the 800 pound gorilla nobody wanted to really mention. Or perhaps something more awkward. L considered things more awkward, and decided on a dead body, hung from the ceiling from a noose, full of maggots. That would be considerably more awkward, yes.

He watched, frankly intrigued, as Light's hand tightened infinitesimally around his chopsticks and for two whole seconds, his jaw was still. Filled with sushi. Euch, sushi was salty. Remembering that this was meant to seem like a casual conversation, he leaned forward and strained his neck slightly, noting that the teen's eyes were a lighter shade of brown around the pupils, and that there was a dark ring of coffee brown closer to the whites.

Slowly, too slowly, Light chewed the sushi, and then swallowed, taking far too many moments to drink about half of his water bottle. L's toes curled around the edge of his seat impatiently; he wanted this dead body's rope to be cut and the corpse to be dragged out of the room already, to know how Light would react. Infuriatingly slowly, he dabbed his upper lip with a napkin and took a small breath.

It probably took twenty whole seconds for the question to even begin to be answered. Much, much too long. He commanded his twitching toes to still, lest he let his impatience show in more obvious ways. But, finally, Light's voice started forming words.

"Well, who wouldn't be? Kira is something new, someone who is affecting life as we know it right now. Their methods may be harsh, but it does seem like they are working for the better." He took another bite of sushi, and L's toes curled around the edge of his seat. Stalling. However, he noted that Light purposely did not refer to Kira as a he or a she, keeping pronoun simplicity somewhat out of the equation.

He needed to pry more out of Light. "But Kira is a simple murderer, is he not? Why should a simple murderer be idolized, particularly in a class about religion and ethics? Clearly Kira has no sense of ethics, and he is most certainly not an idol. If anything, he is a terrorist." He plucked the top of his temple off and swallowed the marshmallow whole, eyes darting back to Light in a fraction of a second. He could not afford to miss a single reaction.

Annoyingly casually, Light swallowed. "What makes him a terrorist? He only kills those who have been deemed criminals by the general public. It's more of a form of perfect justice." L glanced down at his plate. No sushi left. No more distractions. He grinned to himself, twisting Light's words in his mind already.

L blinked, leaning forward even more, needing to know his suspect's every reaction, every slight movement, what his body language meant...how to tell if it was fake, how to tell if it was real..."Humanity does not deserve perfect justice, though. Humanity is flawed, therefore the punishment exacted on those incarcerated should also be flawed. Otherwise there is no balance."

Light frowned, and leaned back. "You're really close, it's bothering me." He looked distinctly uncomfortable. Close...what exactly did me mean by that? Were his words too close to insinuating the truth, or was he _physically_ too close? It may have been both. Then again, it may have been neither, he could have been referring to something completely different.

"I'm sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?" he asked blankly, leaning back onto his heels and gazing unfocusedly at the temple. He pulled out the bottom of a pillar, and the whole thing crumpled. Light visibly relaxed, and crossed his legs. L took this to mean as an indication that he was comfortable, and filed it away for later use.

"Yeah. Sorry." He downed more of his water, and L watched his distorted features through the plastic.

"You could have said something sooner, you know. I would have been willing to stop." Light had tried to change the topic, but this simple move told L more about Light Yagami's sense of justice than he probably would have learned if the conversation actually had continued. Light leaned back, and L heard something in his neck pop. He mirrored the movement curiously, and several loud cracks sounded in his ears. That kind of hurt...but it felt good. He returned his gaze to Light, who blinked, eyes slightly wide.

"Ah...yes, but it would have been impolite." There was more to it than that, L could tell from the tone. However, pressing for more information could make Light even more of a closed book, and prying him open again would take precious time.

The warning bell rang. L wished a pox on Father Time and all of his spawn accordingly. Firstly because it cut his conversation with Light short, secondly because his pockets would only hold about half of the marshmallows, and he didn't get to start eating his candy bar. Rather effortlessly, he scooped the half of the marshmallows that would not fit into his hands and put them in his mouth. Light watched, mildly bug-eyed. "You have a study period next, do you not?" he asked, voice horribly thick through the white fluff.

"Pardon?" Light asked. L swallowed, feeling the half-chewed mush slide down his esophagus, and repeated himself. Light nodded, softly. "Yes, how did you guess?"

L shrugged, filling his pockets. "I assume that if you had a class next, you would be in a much greater hurry to get out of this area and to said class." It was a much better response than "I purposely set up my schedule to coincide perfectly with yours so I could watch you and attempt to determine whether or not you are Kira."

Light nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose that would be true. So is it safe to assume the same for you, seeing as you too seem perfectly relaxed?" L grinned slightly, a perfectly calculated gesture that he left open to Light's interpretation, and nodded.

"Considering that it seems todays classes serve no acual purpose and there has been no actual work assigned, would Light-kun like to play a game?" L paused tactfully, gnawing on his thumbnail. "Tennis, perhaps?" That was the one sport they had a good chance of being evenly matched at, other than chess or checkers or Go or any card game, games which were almost garaunteed to last longer than an hour when played between two people of exceptional intelligence.

Light bit his lip and ran his hand through his hair as the next bell rang, signaling that all students should be in their respective classes. Then a competitive cheshire grin spread across his features.

"Sure, Ryuuga."

-~-

It was the farthest Light had gotten from Ryuuga with the strange man's focus still directly on him, but Light found no relief in it. Then again, he was darting back and forth across the tennis court, diving and swinging for the ball in ways he hadn't been forced to do since perhaps the final round of that tournament so long ago.

At least he was putting up a damn good fight. Ryuuga, too, was running back and forth on the balls of his large feet, having discarded his shoes after the first round, mentioning that they impaired his movement. Each shot was a calculated shot, either ridiculously far away from Light or so close he had to fight his reflexes to dodge the bright green projectile. However, a single good shot from Ryuuga sent Light crashing to the ground, ball feebly scraping the tip of his racket and hitting the ground once...twice.

"Best two out of three!" Light called as he picked himself off the ground, and Ryuuga nodded almost absently. Nobody could deny that Light was a sore loser. Not even Light himself. He absolutely hated losing, hated it like Kira hated L, like he hated criminals and stupid people...he hated it so, so much. Behind him, Ryuk chuckled.

Light threw the green ball into the air, pulled his arm back, and struck, aiming for the far left corner. Ryuuga was moving before he actually struck, running close to the ground with his shoulders hunched and racket out. It bounced off the tip of the racket and barely made it over the net, and Light lurched forward to knock it back over to his opponent's side. Ryuuga didn't make it.

"Competitive, Light-kun," he commented, examining the ball he had pinched between his index finger and thumb. Even with the odd grip, he served perfectly well, and Light managed to return in full force straight towards his competition's wrist...but Ryuuga ducked and returned the ball with just as much, if not more, brute force than Light did. His racket vibrated as he hit it square on, and the round lasted probably five minutes before Light missed by maybe an inch and the ball hit the fence before bouncing to the ground.

"Dammit," he muttered to himself as he picked up the ball. He rotated his shoulder, and was just about to serve, when Ryuuga bent backwards. In the interest of not seeming like a cheater, he waited for the resulting cracks (his spine had to be in horrible condition) to fade out of the court before launching the ball with all his strength as far away from Ryuuga as he could. Again, Ryuuga started moving before the ball even started falling back towards Light for the serve, and also again, he barely caught it and sent it just over the net again.

Light missed. He swore under his breath, glanced around, and noticed for the first time that their game had an audience. His name and Ryuuga's were being tossed around, and someone mentioned that Middle School Champion title he had earned. Ryuuga simply smirked, a move that both threw Light off with its foriegn nature on the man's face and made him nervous because again it was obvious that the movement was _faked_.

He served, and L returned it with more than brute force, but also with considerable skill, as Light could have sworn on the Death Note that he was aiming to Light's immediate right, but...the ball went to the left. Light felt like a fool, but then he tried to mimic the movement to an extent, and got a point. He could still win this...

"40-30," Ryuuga called, before tossing the ball lightly and slamming it to Light's far right. He moved quickly, returned the serve, and sent it just under the competition's racket. It practically stuck between the racket and the ground for a moment before rolling towards the fence. "Hm. Deuce."

Another serve, another return, six more hits and...Ryuuga had stumbled, it looked like, but Light was still going to take that point. "Advantage," he called, and a smile spread Ryuuga's features. This one certainly didn't _look_ faked, at least not as obviously as the smirk did. Light was so caught up in analyzing Ryuuga's expression, he didn't notice the man's arm moving until it was too late. Despite his admittedly sluggish efforts, the ball sailed past him, and Ryuuga rocked back onto his heels, the satisfied smile looking honestly genuice.

"Duece," he said again, the grin painting his features.

Light frowned, served to the other man's immediate left, barely caught the return, and sent the other man diving towards the net. He missed. At this point, their match was basically cat-and-mouse, and Light was currently winning. "Advantage," he said smugly, this time keeping a close eye on the other man as his arm rose and he sent a powerful serve to the other side of the court. It was returned with now practiced difficulty, and this volley lasted maybe seven minutes until the black-haired man's return skimmed the top of the net. Barely. And hell, Light wasn't giving up the game out of the goodness of his heart.

"Game," he announced picking up the ball where it had rolled to a stop.

"Whoever wins the next game wins the match, Light-kun," Ryuuga said around his thumbnail. In the corner of the court, Ryuk chuckled. Most of the crowd seemed to be cheering for Light, shouting his name excitedly. A short-haired girl near the fence, however, was practically wailing for Ryuuga, and Light made a mental note to ask Sayu if she knew her.

However, the number of people started to diwndle when the game yet again reached a duece, each player gaining an advantage and then losing it, until all that really remained of the crowd was the girl who wanted Ryuuga to win, and a small group of people that were hardly paying attention. Pity, he thought, because finally-_-finally_--he saw an opening. And he took it.

"Game, set, and match," Light said smugly, as Ryuuga's head turned towards the fence, a brief moment of bewilderment flashing across his face. Light reveled in the sincerity of it, because there was no way that emotion of shock and slight dismay was fake, and it was one of the only _real_ expression of emotion Light had coaxed out of the abnormality.

Then a conspiratorial grin spread Ryuuga's features, and Light felt as if he was missing something very obvious. He practically hated himself for missing it, and hated himself for vaguely hoping the other man would explain what was missing. However, the only words the man uttered were short and relatively meaningless.

"Good game, Light-kun."

-~-

**AN: **Somewhere around here is the time Light's daddy goes poot. Hrmm. Yes, that is Kyouko. Yes, I remember her name. _No, I do not need a life. _Rawr.

-Pepper


	4. Subtle Attack

**AN: **My plot to take over the universe has failed. Damn computer crashed. So I still don't own the rights to Death Note and whatnot.

In slightly lighter news, L is badass and does not abide by traffic laws, and _Task Force members? Say what?_

-~-

**Everything**  
**4: Subtle Attack**

-~-

"So?" Soichiro Yagami asked, arms crossed. L returned his level stare from his perch on the armchair, pulling marshmallows from his pocket and putting them in his mouth at regular intervals. He ignored the look Hirokazu Ukita gave him each time he did this.

"While there is certainly no proof that your son is Kira, Yagami-san, psychologically their personalities are a near perfect match. His sense of justice is also fairly similar, though he acted guarded when I questioned him about this." L glanced at the ceiling, away from Soichiro's look of hidden despair. "He is also an extremely good tennis player..." he added on, mildly ruefully. "And is extremely uncomfortable with close contact."

He was almost tempted to tack on "And his hair is extremely soft and beautiful," for the sole purpose of seeing the look on Soichiro Yagami's face, but decided not to. This was probably awkward enough for the man already, based on the way his muscles were taut and small beads of sweat were forming near his ears.

"Th-thank you," Soichiro managed, before stumbling slightly to his chair. What was wrong?

"Yagami-san," L called, straightening and jumping down off of the chair. "Are you alright?" The other task force members were looking on, too, as L literally ran towards the much older man because...Soichiro was shaking. Symptoms of...

Soichiro let out a pain-filled howl, one shaking hand coming to the left side of his neck, the other to his chest where he gripped the area over his heart as if he thought he could stop the palpitations. A heart attack. "Matsuda, Aizawa, support Yagami!" L shouted, keeping calm with practiced ease. He leaped to the nearest computer console and called Watari. "Yagami is having a heart attack, I need you to locate the nearest hospital," he yelled in German, because German had a shorter way of saying it. And for every second wasted, his most valuable task force member's life came closer to ending.

"Aizawa, Matsuda, get him to the car," L said calmly, memorizing the nearest route when the map popped up. "I'll drive." He was fairly certain Watari groaned from his room, but honestly, L was probably the fastest driver and he had the prime minister of Japan as number 8 on speed dial if he was pulled over. And a man having a heart attack, which would probably woo any police officers into allowing them clearance as well.

The group of four clambered down the stairs, after being dissuaded from using the elevators by L due to their slowness, and buckled a panting and spasming Soichiro into the Bentley's passenger seat. L slid into the driver's side, reminded himself that this was Japan and one drove on the _left_ side of the road, and pulled out into the sunset.

Aizawa and Matsuda in the backseat were still fumbling with the seatbelts, L had simply ignored his as he swerved around many honking cars...left, right, right, screw that red light...and sirens. Of course. L pulled over, rolled down the window, and shouted to the officers that were walking towards him. "There's a man having a heart attack in the passenger seat, do I have your permission to save his life?" He tended to be cynical when he was panicking, he noted.

The officers froze, and then one of them started running. He glanced into the window, took note of the red-faced and sweating man who looked half conscious in the seat next to the strange man, and nodded. "Go ahead." L didn't even roll up the window before stamping on the gas pedal, leaving the two officers looking dumbfounded.

It didn't even take two more minutes for them to reach the hospital, and such a route involved running two more red lights, driving on the curb, and L counted twenty-two rude hand gestures in his direction, but Soichiro Yagami had fainted and looked to be in a great amount of pain. L didn't wait for Aizawa and Matsuda to disentangle themselves from the seatbelts and regain the ability to move before undoing Soichiro's seatbelt(1), running to his side of the car, and carrying him as fast as he could into the emergency room.

"He needs an AED now," L said loudly but calmly to the empty service desk, which was immediately filled by a flustered-looking woman. Matsuda and Aizawa came in after him, panting and Matsuda missing a shoe.

"Aoyama-senpai!" she called. "This man is having a heart attack!" Abruptly, a stretcher was brought out, and L laid the man on it as gently and quickly as he could. He knew the doctors had the expertise to bring him back, all of the Kira deaths had been abrupt and had not taken this long. It had probably been stress.

For a moment, L felt guilty. The man had been working himself to the bone, and L had been unable to see that, because his own bones were so deep that it took more, _much_ more than that to reach a breaking point and even _feel_ stress, let alone feel it physically. But he buried that guilt, because guilt was distracting, and made a mental note to force Soichiro Yagami to go home and relax if necessary. He pulled out his cell phone, put a call in to Ukita, Mogi, and Ide to alert the Yagami household that Soichiro had been the victim of a heart attack but would most likely live.

He then sat in a visitor's chair, took a few more marshmallows out of his pocket, dusted the lint from them, and waited.

-~-

Light didn't panic nearly as much as he probably should have when the call came in that his father had a heart attack. He was Kira, after all, and he had not arranged for his father to die. Still, it was shocking, and he sprinted from his home all the way to the hospital (thankfully only about four blocks away) and burst into the hospital in his concern, ignoring the Bentley in the parking lot, parked halfway on the sidewalk.

Then he remembered the last place he had seen a Bentley, looked around the visitor's room, and sure enough, Ryuuga was perched on a nearby chair. His hand was halfway frozen on its way to his mouth, a disheveled looking marshmallow pinched in his two fingers. Two officers he recognized as Shuichi Aizawa and Touta Matsuda were sitting awkwardly in the corner.

"Hello, Light-kun," Ryuuga said absently.

Light's mind froze, stuck somewhere between concern for his father and pure utter confusion. He said the first thing he could think of. "...your car is halfway on the sidewalk." Intelligent sounding, yes, but it was true.

"I drove your father here. Attention to parking laws was not high on my priority list." The marshmallow entered his mouth, and he continued slightly thickly. "Light-kun is no doubt concerned for his father. He is stable, and recovering. He flatlined for about a minute before the defibrillator charged up completely, but has not suffered greatly from it."

Light blinked, wondering what the odds of Ryuuga Hideki being there as his father had a heart attack were, before asking the obvious question that he already knew the answer to. "It wasn't Kira, was it?" Ryuuga shrugged.

"I would assume not, firstly because Kira is obviously more taken to killing criminals, secondly because everyone who has had a heart attack due to Kira has died and your father is still alive, and third reason is because if Kira were to kill anybody looking for him, it would be more beneficial for him to kill everyone working to find him at the same time and leave none to decipher the clues. Your father was the only member of the police force who suffered a heart attack." Another marshmallow. Light felt vaguely sick to his stomach.

Not to mention he was now even more suspicious of this Ryuuga character. "How did you know my father works with the police?" he asked, not delving into the specifics, such as "Why were you with him when he had a heart attack?" and "Why do you know so much about Kira?" and maybe "Why does it seem like you're following me everywhere?" He glanced out the window as Ryuuga looked up at the ceiling. "Where on earth did you learn to drive?" he considered adding to his list as he observed the gentle tilt of the admittedly gorgeous black car just outside.

"Because I work with your father," was the sudden and unexpected response. Matsuda coughed quietly, and started working on a crossword puzzle in the newspaper. Light's eyes instantly snapped back to the abnormality. Light had gone into his father's office many times to help with cases, and he had never seen this man before. "I'm a new recruit, working specifically on the Kira case." That...almost explained some things. It was kind of hard to comprehend, though

"So, Ryuuga Hideki is an alias?" Light asked, mentally calculating that most people would ask this question based on the knowledge that this man worked on the Kira case, and that frankly Ryuuga Hideki was not a likely name for anyone. As it were, the man simply nodded. "And that's why you were with my dad when he had his heart attack, because you work together?" Another nod, and another marshmallow.

This man was working on the Kira case. That was...not good. No, not good. An L proxy, maybe? L had placed the cameras in his house, a decent enough signal that he suspected Light. Or, at any rate, that he was quite a voyeur. At any rate, the cameras should have cleared Light of all suspicion. Right? "Then why did you enroll in college, if you're currently working on a case?"

"Frankly, Light-kun, you're under suspicion. It was the easiest way to keep an eye on you." He seemed entirely unaffected as he felt around in his pocket for more marshmallows. There were none left, it seemed, so he pulled out a very recognizable chocolate bar and unwrapped it. How could a person be so cold and detached while telling a person that they were suspected of being a mass murderer? The strange cold, almost jealous feeling came back with more force than it had before, when the other man was looming over his shoulder.

He did not understand. But he wanted to, oh, he wanted to. This man was a challenge, a puzzle he couldn't solve without all of the pieces. He had no explanation, and nothing about him revealed anything that gave Light a satisfactory explanation. He wanted to understand him, so he had let the man act as he did by default, but that simply was not right...he always got too close for the impersonal things.

Light wondered if this worked in reverse as well, that he distanced himself from personal things. Ryuuga, whatever his real name was, had not done that strange leaning-in thing movement he tended to do while speaking to someone from a chair. Granted, he was preoccupied with a candy bar, but it seemed so commonplace that he probably barely noted the candy's existence beyond its taste. So...did he find revealing that he was tailing Light nearly as intimate as Light couldn't help but think of it as? His body language didn't betray it in the slightest, but simply the fact that he wasn't giving Light his apparent full and undivided attention made it seem that way.

He then realized that he had been standing there, mouth slightly agape, analyzing the strange man for a good thirty seconds. He forced his mouth shut, and gave a muttered "Oh," before sitting down two seats away from the man and continuing his train of thought.

There was one thing Light knew for sure--this man represented a challenge that he would simply not back down from. Light certainly wanted to kill him, after all, he was hunting down Kira and probably working almost directly under L, but he wanted to learn this man first. He wanted to learn how to hide his social interactions better than he already could. It was easy enough to fake smiles and woo pretty much anyone (except this enigma, but he didn't count anymore), but Light knew he didn't have hiding his emotions down to the art this man did.

He longed to be able to look someone in the eye and tell them something so personal and intimate, and _mean _it, without a single betrayal of his emotion. A nurse came out and informed Light that his father would be alright, but would have to remain in the hospital for maybe a week while he recovered. And Light couldn't help the concern that flashed over his face, well aware that the challenge a few seats away had caught it. Ryuuga, the challenge, the enigma, _whatever_ he was at this point, showed not a trace of compassion, empathy, or even amusing suspicion.

Light realized that he hated it.

-~-

(1): I initially wrote "before undoing Soichiro's belt", and realized it sounded so. Horribly. Wrong. That is all.  
**  
AN: **This chapter was a pain in the arse to write and I'm growing to hate the title of this story. Really. But the chapter has many mentions of the Bentley (a black '65 S3 (_gawd it is so sexy in my mind_) for those who are interested), so it's okay.

Light is hating the L for being something he doesn't understand. Light is so smart he's used to understanding everything. L is new, and it bothers him. That's essentially his feelings in a nutshell.


	5. Dreams

**AN: **Still no owning of the Death Note. _I don't have the right, mama! I don't have the right! _D':

Not much plot in this chapter, more looking into the boy's heads. Some...kind of messed up sequences ahead.

-~-

**Everything  
5: Dreams**

-~-

"Are you sure there aren't any cameras, Ryuk?" Light asked for the umpteenth time, as quietly as he could manage. Given that Ryuk was right over his shoulder, it didn't have to be loud in the least.

"Yeah, yeah, I don't think there's a square centimeter of this space I haven't checked."

"And no bugs?"

"There were a couple flies in your--"

"_Ryuk_."

"Yeah."

Light sighed and leaned back, hearing his spine pop lightly. "Alright. I'll let you have more apples tomorrow. For now...just, stay quiet." He opened his beastly contraption of a drawer, taking extra care when pulling out the little black notebook, and carefully lowered the false bottom. Just in case there were cameras and Ryuk was being traitorous, he held the paper and pen at an angle where it would be next to impossible to see what he was writing. Left hand, much too close to the paper, leaning over to cast a shadow.

"Hiroshi Utagawa, heart attack, 3:00 AM, Seiko Ryuuga..." he paused at the last name, insantly annoyed that an image of the challenging man had been the one to flash before his eyes, rather than the mugshot of the pretty but disgusting criminal that was being shown on the TV. "...heart attack, 4:00 AM." The pattern continued well into the next few days.

12:17 PM, the clock said when Light leaned back again, letting his muscles slide back into place. There was a small pop, and Light climbed down the stairs as nimbly as he could manage when every third one creaked. His father wasn't home, so there wasn't much to worry about, but it was a force of habit to try not to disturb anybody sleeping.

Sayu had passed out on the couch, and the end credits for some movie were rolling to an end. "Hey, Light, technically it's tomorrow, so..." Ryuk eyed the fruit bowl on the counter meaningfully. "You know, there's apples, and I like apples very, _very_ much. Please?"

"Fine," Light breathed, hoisting Sayu into his arms. She stirred lightly, opened her eyes, and instantly closed them again. "Just be quiet." Ryuk rolled his eyes, and ate an apple as slowly as he could manage as Light maneuvered up the stairs, feet close to the wall to make the creaking as silent as possible. "Goodnight, Sayu-chan," he muttered as he laid his sister down. She smiled slightly in her sleep, mumbling quietly to herself.

"'Night, Light-kun..." she whispered, pulling her blankets closer. Light simply smiled gently and closed the door, turning and coming face-to-face with Ryuk's face splitting grin. He jumped slightly, and then prayed that Sayu had not heard.

"What?" he whispered furiously. Ryuk chuckled, and then shrugged.

"You're funny when you're startled. Guard let down, and all that. Your eyes get wider, it's really funny. Yeah." Light sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. _Guard let down_...he had yet to see Ryuuga let his guard drop in the slightest, yet to see his eyes widen of their own accord, he was so _perfectly_ in control that he had power over not only himself, but others as well...

Light had noticed how uncomfortably Matsuda and Aizawa sat across the waiting room from them.

But for now, he needed sleep. Sleep required for further operation.

Rarely did Light's dreams feel real. More often, they were much too surreal, concepts and ideas floating just out of reach, twists of color that snaked through the air and entwined themselves around his arms, but he was always unable to catch them...those were the dreams he hated, because he always woke up without achieving anything.

Ones about his family were never real, too. They were relaxing but horrifying. Quite often, his family and the acquaintances he was close enough to that he considered them more than faces were warped and distorted, with nothing but black holes for eyes and pale unreal limbs and shapes that made up their bodies. He preferred these demented creatures to the infuriating snakes of color, though.

Tonight, his dream was neither of those. There were colors, yes, but they were all black and white and did not matter to him.

After all, he danced in the gray area on a regular basis.

He dreamed he was a book. A simple book, sitting on a shelf, waiting to be opened and read. Faceless creatures, things with a confused look in the things they had that might of been eyes, would come and try to read. First they would struggle with his covers, and he would chuckle to himself as they tore at his binding to no avail. And then he would allow himself to be opened, and the creatures would writhe and scream at the fact that they could not see anything in the blank pages, and force him back on the shelf where he would laugh to himself at how pitiful they were.

Feeling like a book was a strange thing. He couldn't move, but it was pleasant and he was still in control.

Some of the faceless creatures looked like his family from his normal dreams. Sayu, melted-looking and plain braids bouncing, hadn't been surprised when she opened the book. His father and mother were frustrated. But they didn't cry out in anguish when they found that he had nothing inside of him, or that it took some sort of amazing secret to unlock his true colors.

And then another creature, the most faceless of them all, turned its gaze on the book that was Light, and if books had mouths, he would have screamed. Black eyes, unfocused but somehow aware, obsidian layers on onyx canvas, underscored with a thousand sleepless nights, adorned the faceless being. No mouth to see, no nose to wrinkle in disgust, no brow to furrow in confusion.

The creature, his mind's version of Ryuuga Hideki, pulled Light from the shelf with long white fingers, pinching Light's covers with his index finger and thumb and the other fingers fanning out like peacock feathers. And then, even as Light locked himself as tight as he could, those fingers eased him open and a rainbow of colors were on his pages. Pictures, words, phrases he had taken to heart...all of them were poured out on his pages and Ryuuga regarded them as calmly as a person reading a non-fiction book regarding whales would take the facts.

Even when three words in blazing Gothic font, Gothic like _L_'s but altogether more sinister appeared on the page, all he did was blink his strange eyes. "I AM KIRA", Light read, the screaming words surrounded by an array of colors that no human being had ever seen.

Ryuuga sat Light down on the floor, eyes as large as they were telling absolutely nothing, and walked away.

Light cried out in his sleep.

-~-

L Lawliet leaned forward, reading the characters on his page, translating them and then responding. He typed in the pinyin for his response, checked it once to ensure the program had not misunderstood, and sent his email.

Five minutes later, he received a response from the head of Law Enforcement in China: _"谢谢，L 侦探."_ L nodded to himself, shut off the computer, and climbed down from his chair. His legs wobbled slightly from being in the same position for three hours, and L patiently waited for them to wake up.

After four minutes, he determined that his body required sleep in order to function properly, and he stumbled to the hotel bed, un-tucked all of the covers, double-checked to ensure that they were messily draped over the sides, and slid under the blankets. He ignored the pillow in favor of curling up right in the center of the bed, closed his eyes, and tried to make his mind shut down.

An hour later, L was stretched across the foor of the bed, bare feet dangling from one side, one arm and most of his head on the other. His eyes were wide open.

Another hour later, he was in a somewhat normal position with his head shoved under the pillow. His eyes were scrunched shut as tightly as he could manage, but the buzzing in his mind would not stop.

Yet another hour later, he was under the bed, wrapped in blankets, still attempting to get some sleep.

Another hour. He had tried dragging the blanket and pillow to the bathub. It hadn't worked so far, but L was determined.

Watari had probably been amused to find L at 6:10 in the morning, curled on the floor of his closet, eyes wide open and slightly red, also with an extremely rare look of pure contempt. He hid it the moment the light of understanding crossed Watari's eyes.

"Coffee instead of tea this morning, L?" he asked, as L crawled out from the closet and stood. His spine cracked loudly, and Watari winced. L nodded, turning his head to the side and releasing the crick in his neck with another crack. His legs and hands were aching, and he felt the beginning of a headache building in the back of his cranium.

Then he remembered it was Wednesday and he had to be at _school_, and he groaned out loud.

Sometime around the middle of third period, his muscles simply would not cooperate with his mind. His mind, buzzing like a swarm of bees, cracked its whip angrily at its slave muscles, but they had reached their limits and weren't paying attention to his mind anymore. Light Yagami was staring blankly at him, he remembered, and his mind cracked the whip again. The only thing it managed to control were the flaps of skin that covered his eyes. And he kept them open, he really tried, but no...

His last conscious thought was a thanking of Light Yagami for having a study hall this period. His head met the wood of the table before him with a satisfying clunk, and dreamland claimed him.

L's dreams were always nonsense but sense, images that contradicted each other in perfect harmony, with bells clanging away in the background. Perhaps he was playing with a deck of tarot cards, and Justice had decided to commit suicide with her sword. Perhaps a swarm of white and purple bees had taken residence in a rabbit hole, and the rabbit came to L for help.

More often than always, however, they were horrifying. No gore, no blood, but there was nothing. He couldn't move, he couldn't see, he couldn't hear, couldn't feel. Complete sensory deprivation. But he was _aware_ of every last thing that was going on. He could sense it, that it was there, but he couldn't do anything. He couldn't mold it, and at his core, he was _bored_. So bored, bored to the point that he would be willing to attempt to see how much pain he could put his own body through before he died.

And that's what he did. He would always wake up fom these dreams with sheets soaked in blood, fingers and hands covered in bite marks.

But this dream was different. He dreamed that he was a book, a book that was superglued together to the point where nobody, and the bodies were these strange blobs, no matter how hard they tried, could even pry him open. L was well aware that his sheets were a frightening black, with splotches of red from the criminals he had sent to the lethal injection chamber or the electric chair, splotches of blue from computer screens...much too many computer screens. Splotches of green, for the jealousy he felt just underneath the surface for the people who had organized stripes of color in their books. Splotches of yellow, from who knows what, splotches of orange and purple and every color of the rainbow, and streaks of white.

Nobody else could tell that L had these colors inside, but they tried to open anyway. Most gave up soon enough, for his cover was simply an empty canvas. Nothing interesting inside an empty canvas.

Soon, though a blob L vaguely recognized set its amber gaze on the spine of L's book on the cover. He, Light Yagami, calmly collected L and set to work opening him. Sharp, formless fingernails snapped into him, trying to tear him apart and for the first time, L had to work to keep the book from opening. And then L wailed as he was torn apart, for he had given but Light had not let up on his strength a single tiny amount. His spine, blank and uninteresting, was torn flawessly into two peices, and his pages with their Jackson Pollock splatters released every color in every combination.

Light left him there, torn to pieces on the ground.

L cried out in his sleep.

-~-

**AN:** Ever tried sleeping in your bathtub? It's actually quite comfy.

Hrm, yes, this is entirely looking into the boys' heads. I probably found it way funner than anyone deserves. Take it as you will, but I'd like to know how others interpret it.

-Pepper


	6. Alive

**AN: **No own. Do not own the Death Note characters or general plotline. I own one pair of socks. But I lost one, so now I only own one sock...I'm going to go cry now.

_Warning_: Messed up demented Light stuff ahead. Chugga-chugga-choo-choo!

-~-

**Everything  
6: Alive**

-~-

It wasn't that surprising when the strange man's head fell to the table, though it was fairly startling that his eyes did not close. Then again, this man didn't seem to do anything the traditional way.

Light contemplated waking him up, but decided against it. Ryuuga clearly needed the sleep. He hadn't said a single word all day, except a mumbled "Good morning, Light-kun," and then a retreat into silence. He hadn't even been doing the creepy stalker stare. Light was fine with not responding, his dream had not been restful in the least, and he was not in a conversational mood. Or a good mood. Or in a normal mood. He vaguely felt like ripping his textbook to shreds. But that wouldn't be any fun, it wouldn't bleed.

Yes, he was in a strange mood.

"Hey..." Ryuuga said, English. Light leaned as close as he could, but only caught angry mutterings of German or Spanish or Russian or some language that he didn't know. A few short, harsh, almost _insane_ sounding laughs slipped from his lips a few times, and then he was silent. Light was amazed. The face that had torn him open in his dreams last night was moving in ways he had never seen it move. His eyes scrunched shut, his forehead wrinkled (though not much, compared to the wrinkled and heavy shadows under the enigma's eyes), the corners of his lips moved up and down, the face looked _alive_.

And somehow, it annoyed Light to no end that this man _could_ be torn apart, that he did have emotions to show and play with, that he could take offense to something and offer a rebuttal warped with emotions and not completely objective. It meant that he could _win_, just that it would be extremely hard. But he had to win. His beast of a competitive streak was already plotting out subtle ways to see what hit Ryuuga's buttons and made that white face twist in agony or glee.

Ryuuga made a strange choking noise, louder than the rest, before bringing his thumb to his mouth. He was clearly in pain, his wide open eyes were flickering from side to side almost manically. Then his breathing slowed, and his face was as if it was awake, except that it was rested on the table. Light sighed, finding that he loved the way Ryuuga looked while panicked, and returned to his reading.

He _would_ get under Ryuuga's skin. Absolutely would, he would tear him open the way Ryuuga had done to Light last night. Tear him open and go the extra mile, ripping out every page of the closed book that was Ryuuga, tear it to pieces, and burn it. Burning books generally went against his morals, but he would make an exception for Ryuuga.

"Henh. He's kind of cute when he's sleeping..." Ryuk said from across the table, where he was seated in a cruel mockery of Light's relaxed pose. Light glanced at Ryuk, and then at Ryuuga, because whatever he was doing in his sleep seemed to have Ryuk entranced.

Ryuk had a point. He was cute when he was asleep. His eyes were now halfway closed and his mouth open as his teeth tore into his thumb. But what Light liked most was the way blood was oozing out of that finger as strong teeth tore into it again and again, blood mixing with saliva dripping out of his mouth and down his chin. Light wanted there to be more of it. He wanted the face he now _knew_ could portray emotion to be warped and twisted in agony, the infuriating monotone to be high and cracking in pain, and blood mixing with not only saliva, but also tears as it ran down his body.

Light looked away from the sleeping demon as he visualized it, and grinned. Perhaps he would do it with his own hands, rather than the Death Note. No, that would never do...too suspicious. Light would not become a murderer in the conventional sense, would not become the very thing he strove to punish, just for one infuriating soul. Granted, the soul was apparently as intelligent as him and very against Kira's actions, not to mention a lying bastard, but not for _one_ soul.

No, it would have to be an accidental death. He risked a glance at his challenger, who looked as if he was about halfway through tearing his thumb off, and amended his movement. An _excruciatingly painful_ accidental death. Perhaps some excruciatingly painful and humiliating illness, one that left the being completely helpless and pathetic. Maybe Ryuuga could be raped, then fatally injured, and left to die in a dark alleyway somewhere alone, slowly bleeding to death. The rapist could cut through his Achilles tendons before having his way with him, and then simply leave him there. He could find a rapist who fit the profile to do something like that, but now Light didn't like that idea. He wanted to watch this man die.

Ryuuga had moved onto his index finger, having sufficiently deformed his thumb enough. How was he not awake, Light wondered. As he watched, morbidly amazed now, Ryuuga moved his mouth up closer to his wrist and _bit_, teeth sinking in but not puncturing, and he did it again, and his white skin was streaked with red, and one more time...blood was not dripping anymore, but instead running in attractive rivulets down his arms and staining his shirt like the Phlegethon River...

But of course Ryuuga would be in a lower circle of hell than that, down with the devil frozen up to his neck in ice. And Light would be able to watch him from his kingdom in heaven.

Violently now, Ryuuga switched to his other hand, not bothering with the finger but going straight for the knuckle, biting down hard and drawing blood on his first try. How was he not awake? His tongue trailed slightly along his hand as he moved down to his wrist, biting deep and hard...could he bleed to death from this, Light wondered? Suicide, painful suicide, that would be an amazing way for Ryuuga to die. But Light wanted to cause it.

"Hey, Ryuuga," Light said, prodding him in the shoulder. Ryuuga was _his_ to kill. Even if he had Ryuuga commit suicide, it would still be caused by Light. He felt...possessive, maybe? Possessive, yes. Ryuuga was his to kill, just as L was, just as every horrible criminal in the world was...but no, L and Ryuuga just weren't his the way criminals were. They were to die because they were heretics, vicious heretics against his new world. "Ryuuga," Light all but spits in the man's ear, and he can smell the man's iron-tinged blood.

Light almost found it amusing. He would have expected the maniac's blood to be mostly sugar. Or maybe black, like his charred soul. "_Ryuuga_," he said firmly, as the man's teeth went to work on his index finger, which he now noticed was bent in a strange direction. Had it been broken before, or was it something Ryuuga had done with his teeth when Light hadn't been paying attention? "Ryuuga, wake up!"

A hand rose to Ryuuga's shoulder, and Light gripped the bony shoulder, but it did nothing. The man moved down to his wrist again, smearing blood across his nose and upper lip. Light dug his fingernails into the flesh, smiling to himself as he realized that already he was causing the man pain, whether he knew it or not. "Ryuuga," he said again, trying to fake that sense of concern and urgency that came so naturally when it came to his father and Sayu.

Ryuuga cried out again, eyes abruptly opening all the way, back arching in pain, and for a moment Light saw real _fear_. He clung to it, memorized each small feature, and wished he had a camera to capture that moment forever. A Kodak moment if he ever saw one. But, as quickly as it came, it was gone, and Ryuuga's emotionless facade (Light grinned as he now truly knew that it was a facade, and Ryuuga wasn't a robot sent from Hell to drive him insane) slid into place as if it had never left. He calmly assessed his hands, and Light still had his hand on his shoulder but he didn't notice. Light felt the other's pulse, quick and pounding, and felt his own, pounding violently in his ears as he...he _wanted_ Ryuuga in pain.

"Light-kun, get your hand off of me," Ryuuga said shortly, standing up and slouching. Light obliged, feelings brewing just beneath the surface, and Ryuuga turned and started off.

Of course, Light followed.

-~-

L hated those dreams. The one where he was a book was terrifying enough, but then the blackness and the soundlessness came, and he was already partially broken from the book nightmare. It hadn't taken long before the sheer isolation got to him, for there were no walls to talk to and there was nothing to contemplate, and the only thing he could do was cause himself _pain_. He did, it was the only thing he _could _do, and though it made no sense later it damn well made sense at the moment.

He was so used to the pain in his hands while he slept that during that dream he had needed, no, not simply needed, _needed_ something different. He had moved down to his wrists, and though that hurt so much more, it was something new and stimulating for him to contemplate. Morbid as it was, he almost understood the intense need for pain. The pain he felt while he was dreaming was not quite the same as pain in real life. It was much easier to think around. He could contemplate each little sting in each little nerve, each little static shock that flew up to his brain at the stimulation.

And then...what Light had done. Light had dug his long and beautiful fingernails into a place L had never felt pain while he slept, and it was enough to shock him out of his panic. Of course, then Light had not let go, and it was starting to make him nervous again even though he had just relaxed from the initial realization that he could still see and hear. "Light-kun, get your hand off of me," he said, disguising his shaky lungs by making it loud and curt.

He wondered if it was masochism if a person did it unconsciously, realized that intentionally causing himself pain in his sleep was not normal either way, and dismissed the puzzle as he stood. He hid the violent trembling of his damaged hands, and started walking towards the bathroom. Light, who had withdrawn his hand (strangely warm, L noted absently, for there was not a thing he couldn't notice in this state of quiet terror) almost immediately after L requested it, followed. Of course.

"Are you okay, Ryuuga?" Light asked. "Your hands are shaking, really bad too..." So, he had noticed. L shrugged slightly, putting his thumb in his mouth, for his thumb was bleeding the most. At least it hadn't broken. He had done that to his pinky once, not too long ago. Watari had fallen asleep, and some of the scars from that particular episode still remained.

The two arrived at the bathroom, and L ran his hands under the water, not that surprised at how much blood was mingling with the water, sending it in tendrils down the drain. He would need to change his shirt as fast as he could to avoid too much attention...or perhaps he could simply bleed all over the rest of his shirt and say it was a red shirt.

"Ryuuga, you do know that it's not normal to do..._that_ in your sleep. Don't you?" L wiped his hand on a paper towel, and made a mental note to ditch Yagami as soon as possible. The faked compassion in his voice was bringing back the headache. He needed more sleep than the...forty or so minutes he had managed to catch, and definitely sleep more restful. Not much would be accomplished with L's mind stuck like this, anyway.

"Light-kun," he started, wadding the paper towers around his hands and shoving them in his pockets. "I am going to leave early. I do not feel well." Light let a look of surprise fly across his face, and if L hadn't spent the last few nights studying human feature reading, he probably would not have caught that it was fake. Vaguely, he wondered why Light even bothered with acting. Wouldn't it be easier to do as L did, and seem completely emotionless?

"No, Ryuuga, I'm worried about you." L turned his eyes to the amber ones of his companion. "I don't want you to hurt yourself. I was...worried...you know, that, well..." he bit his lip, looking down, eyes soft, and a hand rose to rub the back of his neck. All that was missing was the blush, and the _honest_ concern in the eyes. But, as L had already learned, that couldn't be faked. Still, to any other person, Light would have looked like a concerned friend wondering if he'd crossed a line.

"Light-kun, I have informed you that I am working on the Kira case, and as a suspect having you accompany me to my place of residence would be woefully out of line." L pulled out his cell phone, but it slipped out of his bloody and shaky grasp and clattered to the floor. Light instantly bent down to pick it up, took L's rather numb hand, and placed the phone in it.

"Ryuuga, my father has come close to dying for the sake of this case, and if one person leaves the team due to...well, you know what I meant, my father's stress will get worse and he will be in even worse condition. It would be wrong of me as a son and a potential future detective to let you out of my sight in this condition." He pulled his best Good Samaritan face, and damn it all if L fell for it.

But it was fairly obvious Light was not going to let this go, anyway. However, he had no home apart from Task Force Headquarters, and that was a hotel room. It seemed he would have to take Light there, no, either that or _force_ him to leave L the hell alone. But it would be interesting to see what Light would make of the evidence they had from Kira, both as a suspect and as a talented young future detective.

Yes, it seemed there was really no choice but for Light to come to the headquarters. L sighed, considered calling Watari, and then realized it would be terribly strange to have L's only known companion willing and able to pick up someone who was supposed to be just another detective on the case. Not to mention, Watari had picked up a slight head cold and wouldn't be fit to drive very well.

"Light-kun can accompany me to Task Force Headquarters on one condition," he announced, calling up the route from the To-Oh campus to the hotel that was currently being utilized. Light raised an eyebrow and nodded. L grinned, an honest grin that really couldn't give anything away.

"I drive."

-~-

Meanwhile, Misa Amane simply sat on her bed, painting her nails black and waiting for Sakura TV to play her broadcast.

-~-

**AN: **Bet you didn't see that coming.


	7. Intense

**AN: **Don't own, don't own, don't own, don't...wait! Wait! Oh, never mind.

Wicked long, savvy? There was nowhere to cut it off without it feeling incomplete. Over 3,000 words here without the AN. Day-am.

-~-

**Everything  
7: Intense  
**

-~-

Light's fingernails were digging quite firmly into the seat as he held on for dear life. Ryuuga drove like a maniac, at _least_ fifteen kilometers above the speed limit, fishtailing out on the turns, and overall, scarring Light possible for life. He vaguely wondered if Ryuuga paid for his own car insurance, and then that thought was dismissed as he almost lost the contents of his stomach. It was more terrifying in these circumstances as well, because Ryuuga's mutilated hands were still bleeding sluggishly and they seemed to slip and slide around on the steering wheel.

When they finally pulled into the parking lot of a gorgeous western-styled hotel, Light didn't release his grip. "Is Light-kun okay?" Ryuuga asked, curiously poking one of Light's white knuckles. "He looks pale." Light glanced at their hands, and his own was _almost_ as white as Ryuuga's, underneath the blood.

"I'm..." he took a deep breath. "Fine. Perfect." Slowly, he removed his hands from the seat. "Traumatized." Ryuuga seemed in a ridiculously good mood, for he grinned and clambered out his own door with surprising enthusiasm. Carefully Light followed, legs feeling mildly like Jell-O, and a stray thought offered the possibility that it was Ryuuga's driving that had _caused_ his father's heart attack.

They went into the elevator, a small mischievous smile coating Ryuuga's lips still, but somewhere around the fourteenth floor it fell back into the emotionless state Light personally felt he was growing much too used to. He took comfort in the fact that Ryuuga was still bleeding.

"Good afternoon," Ryuuga greeted the members of the Task Force in monotone so unlike the noises he had been making when he had the nightmare. He got a brief glance from Aizawa, and then an audible gasp from the man as he noticed Light behind him.

"Does he know, Ryuu-"

"Light-kun is aware that he is a suspect in this investigation, nothing more, nothing less. He was..." Ryuuga paused, eyes narrowing just enough that Light noticed, "concerned for my well-being, and I confess that I had next to no choice except to bring him here." He rose his bleeding thumb to his lips, and got a few wide-eyed looks from the other men in the room. "As well, the chance that he is Kira is so low, it would perhaps be more beneficial for him to be more aware of the current situation and supply his input as opposed to being kept in the dark." Ryuuga wiped his hand on his shirt before putting it back in his mouth. "He has a staggering intellect."

The Task Force nodded or grunted their approval, and Light wondered if it was any more alive when his father was here. Ryuuga seemed almost to suck the life out of the room, though perhaps it was because the smell of blood was permeating it. "Ryuuga, I think you should go change your shirt. It's...really disturbing, sorry." Light bit his lip and looked away, noting the pained look Matsuda had for a brief moment as he called Ryuuga by the name he had been told.

"Light-kun, I do not live here," Ryuuga muttered silently. "Please come this way, there are a few files I would like to show you in regard to evidence." Light followed Ryuuga quietly to a desk littered with crumpled paper and candy wrappers, and a few empty teacups with sloppy sugar taking up the bottom.

"Ryuuza...Ah, Ryuuga, we just got an email from Watari. He says...L wants us to turn to Sakura TV, there is something important on," Matsuda said, glancing up from his computer. Aizawa instantly turned the TV on, and Ryuuga took residence on the armchair adjacent to the flatscreen.

"_In other words, we are broadcasting this not only because we are Kira's hostages, but also because it is our duty as reporters..._"

Kira's _hostages_? Light's mind, for a frightful moment, went blank as he processed this information. A publicity stunt by Sakura TV? He forced Matsuda's slip-up regarding Ryuuga's name into the back of his mind and concentrated on the now moments. He did his absolute best to control his face, calling every ounce of practice he'd ever had around society, girls, and most particularly, Ryuuga.

He slipped for less than a quarter of a second and allowed his paranoid nervousness to show, but then Ryuuga's eyes were on him, staring intently, and Light swallowed and ignored his gaze in favor of the television.

"_Please understand that this is not fake and we are not airing this to be sensationalistic..._" Light doubted that, he really did. But the fear on the reporter's face was truly real. His eyes flickered to Ryuuga's.

"Do you believe them, Ryuuga?" he asked quietly as the reporter composed himself. Ryuuga blinked.

"Do you, Light-kun?"

Fair enough. "I can't honestly say I do. I've seen some of what Sakura TV airs, and it's desperate for supporters...oh, he's starting again." Light returned his gaze to the television as the reporter continued.

"_Four days ago, four tapes were sent to the director of this show. Without a doubt, they were sent by Kira. The first tape predicted the times of death of two criminals who were recently arrested._" Light thought to criminals recently arrested. There were two, he remembered noticing, who had died at the wrong time. Whoever this impostor was, he or she almost certainly had a Death Note, and they had planned this out. At the time, he had passed it off as an accident. One of them had been a likely candidate for a heart attack anyway. "_Then, the next day, those two criminals died, just as predicted. Kira instructed us to broadcast this second tape at exactly 5:59 PM today. It will contain predictions of murders that will prove he is the real Kira._" Light's eyes widened, out of his own control. Ryuuga didn't let his stare waver, and Light kept his breathing under control so that nothing more would be given away.

In order for this impostor to prove that they were the "real" Kira, he or she would have to predict the deaths of people that can be checked fairly immediately. People on TV. Not criminals. This impostor was stupid, he, she, _whatever_, was breaking Kira's rules, showing that Kira could be human by displaying weakness, or a lapse in judgment. Lind L. Tailor was different, he deserved to die, because Kira saw him as L, and L was to Kira as Satan was to God. He dug his fingernails into the palm of his hand on the side where Ryuuga wouldn't see, bit his tongue, and forced himself to continue watching.

"_It also contains a message to the whole world. Please watch._" Ryuuga eyes flickered to the screen for a moment as it faded to white, and the letters K-I-R-A appeared on it in a font eerily similar to that of L's. But then Ryuuga was practically on the arm of the chair, leaning forward into Light's face, and his fists clenched as dammit, the man was _too close_ again. He felt rather than saw those onyx eyes on his own. No, not just his eyes, on his face, his hands, every little detail that would give away his reactions to whatever this moronic imposter had to say.

"_I am Kira..._"

-~-

This wasn't Kira. No, Kira wouldn't do something so _stupid_. At least, L honestly hoped not. Kira was a great challenge, and it sure would be a pity if the competition was not nearly as smart as they seemed to be. As smart as Light-kun, he thought, as he watched amber and brown eyes flicker to his face for just a moment, then returning to the screen.

"_If this video_ _was aired at exactly 5:59 PM on April 18th, it is now 5:59:47. Please change the channel to Sun TV. The anchor, Mr. Hibima Kazuhiko will die of a heart attack at exactly 6:00 PM._" Kazuhiko was not a Kira supporter...no, he spoke out against Kira quite a bit in his broadcasts. But not to the extend Lind L. Tailor had appeared to, Tailor had seemed to take Kira on quite directly and display an urge to challenge Kira. Hibama Kazuhiko was merely presenting his opinion, and Kira would not kill someone simply for that.

But if the prediction was correct, did that mean that there were two Kiras? "Matsuda-san, please turn the channel to Sun TV," L said levelly, feeling Light's warmer than usual body heat radiating through the air. Matsuda complied with a shaking hand, and Kazuhiko had already died. He was being fussed over by his colleagues, and then the 'This broadcast has been interrupted' screen came on. "Change it back, Matsuda-san," he commanded, watching Light's eyes widen again.

"It really is Kira...wait..." L and Light met eyes again, and it was obvious that he was thinking the same thing as his companion. There was a second Kira. Now, how would the real Kira react to this? Clearly, this impostor was not nearly as intelligent as the original, and that could mess up his hands. Most likely, he'd be angry.

"_Hibama-san kept emphasizing that Kira was evil in his broadcasts. This is his punishment. I will sacrifice one more person. My target is a commentator who is scheduled to appear live on NHN TV, and who has condemned me. Komaizumi Seiji_--" L turned to Matsuda and cut the chilling broadcast off with a quick command. "Channel 24, Matsuda-san!" Quickly, he obliged, and Seiji was mid-heart-attack, before he fell to his desk. Almost instantly, the station's own variation of the 'This broadcast has been interrupted' screen came on, and without being asked Matsuda turned it back to Sakura TV.

"_Now you will all believe that I am Kira._" L's bloodied fingernails clenched on the upholstery as Light's brow furrowed, and L nodded in response. 'You're right, there is no way this is Kira,' the small gesture said. "_Please listen carefully. I do not want to kill innocent people. I hate evil and love justice._" A few members of the Task Force let out disbelieving laughs at this statement, and Light looked troubled. His eyes had shifted down minutely, and he seemed concerned. Chagrinned? L tried to remember the Japanese word for it, but he would not be voicing this observation out loud, so it didn't matter that he didn't know how to phrase it in Japanese. He let his mind roam back to the television, but kept his eyes on Light.

"_I think of the police not as my enemies, but as my allies._" Ukita stood up, eyes hard. "Ukita-san, what are you doing?" L asked blankly, letting his eyes flicker to the man for a moment before putting them back to Light, who was stating at Ukita at this point.

"I'm going to go stop this, I've been trying to get on the line with Sakura TV all this time and they're not answering..." he rushed off, and L could tell there was no way of stopping him. The door slammed and he let out a deep breath and tried to contain the growing sense of foreboding. This was very bothersome.

"_My goal is to create a world without evil. If you all want it, it can easily be accomplished._" More Kira-based lies. Kira was evil. "_If you do not try to catch me, innocent people will not die. Even if you don't agree with me, as long as you do not announce your views in the media, I will not kill you._" More proof that this was not Kira, or at any rate not the original Kira, who L had talked to over the TV. Kira did not care about the announcement of public views in the media, he was content to revel in quiet confidence that his views would soon become law. "_Now, please wait for a little while. Our world will become one that everyone will approve of. I will change this filthy world into a new world with only people who are kind of heart. Just imagine it._"

The screen displaying the security cameras from outside the Sakura TV studio showed movement. Ukita was running up the steps, gun drawn, towards the closed and locked doors. L watched the screen intently, and Light was right next to him, brow furrowed and confusion coloring his eyes. "Let me in!" Ukita yelled through the glass, pounding on it with a fist. "Let me in," L said dully, doubting that the rest of the team could read lips. "This is the police, you have to stop the broadcast," he continued, watching the man's lips move. Then...he froze, and sunk to the ground.

Light let out a quiet gasp, and Aizawa and Mogi's eyes turned to them. Mogi, who had remained silent as he hacked into the security feed for the sole purpose of seeing if anyone else was hacking in, stood up and rushed towards the screen. "Hirokazu-kun," he muttered silently. Aizawa turned towards the door, and L was much firmer with this man now that he knew the threat presented.

"Aizawa-san, just what do you believe you are doing?" he said sharply, allowing his displeasure to show in the downward curve of his lips. Light, next to him, nodded. His eyes were wide and he seemed panicked.

"This Kira can kill with just a face, Aizawa-san. Going there now would be _suicide_, and there's not even a point--"

"--because there's no way Sakura TV will let you in--"

"--and it would be next to impossible to even get to the doors without Kira seeing your face, and--"

"Alright, I get it!" Aizawa exclaimed just as L opened his mouth to complete Light's statement. "Then what do we do? Just wait for more people to be massacred like _sheep_?"

L let plans whirl around in his head before deciding one of the more sound ones. "Aizawa-san, you have Director Takimura as a contact on your phone?" Aizawa nodded, and then his head turned sharply as there was more movement outside the TV studio. Still, that poorly warped voice on the screen continued.

"_The world's police and I will make_..."

"Please call Director Takimura and then hand me the phone. Quickly!" Light, leaned in right next to him, was muttering to L what was going on outside the studio as Aizawa fumbled for his phone.

"Two officers came out of a police car, one just collapsed, the other quickly followed, there's some nearby footage that shows more police cars and some citizens coming towards the station...Ryuuga, this is headed towards a crisis, at least thirty people are speeding towards the station. Aizawa, hurry!"

"Here, Ryuuzaki..." Aizawa said, handing the flip phone to L, who had frozen and was watching the light of understanding dawn in Light's eyes. Aizawa seemed to realize his mistake, and paled. "Oh, shit...Takimura's waiting."

L took the phone, and held it up to his ear. "_What is it, Aizawa? I told you not to call unless--_"

"This is not Aizawa," he said shortly. "Please listen carefully. Many police officers are headed towards the Sakura TV station as we speak. You must tell them to stop, and barricade the area so that no citizens have access to the station, either. There is no point in a direct standoff with Kira at this point, it seems our deductions were not exactly correct and only a face is needed to kill."

"_What gives you the authority to tell me what to do?_" Takimura asked testily, and L could imagine his face turning red. This man had put Soichiro Yagami under enough pressure to add to his tension that might have led to his heart attack. But L was made of things stronger than that.

"I imagine L will be less inclined to help you if you should you go against his direct orders." In another part of the room, Light blinked, and a shocked expression crossed his face. That would have to be dealt with, and fast. L kept the phone near his ear as the distorted Kira voice on the monitor still kept talking, a righteous speech that, frankly, was made of bullshit.

"_Will the police cooperate with me and create a new world? Yes or no? In four days, please give me your answer on the 6:00 PM news._"

"L," L said, ramming his finger down on Watari's intercom button. "This course of action is what you recommend, right?" Watari was a bright man, he would catch on quickly. Especially as he had probably been watching the entire situation in the ironically named situation room unfold.

"_Yes. It is the most logical and results in the lowest amount of death. Thank you, Ryuuzaki_," Watari said, voice distorted in the exact way the L computer voice was. Nobody, not even the task force, would have guessed that it hadn't been L who said that unless they saw Watari saying the words. Light's shoulders sagged ever slightly, but L could still notice out of the corner of his eye. He wished Light was facing towards him, but his eyes were trained on the screen and he was observant enough to alert L to the slightest change in environment.

"Ryuuzaki!" Light suddenly yelled, turning towards L. L noticed how quickly he adapted to the different name, but pushed that observation away when he heard what Light said next. "A bus has just driven through the front of the station!" L came over and looked at the screen, where the back half of a bus was indeed sticking out the glass panels. "Genius," Light muttered. L nodded his agreement.

"A way to get into the station without allowing this Kira to see the driver's face. Very clever."

"_Whether you answer "yes" or choose to answer "no", I have prepared two different tapes._" The screen went blank, and all heads turned towards the screen as the ironically cheery design of Sakura TV's 'This broadcast has been interrupted' picture took over the expanse. L and Light relaxed noticeably, not to the others in the room but to their own competition. Then Watari's voice sounded over the computer.  
_  
"Ryuuzaki, a call was just put in from Soichiro Yagami's locator device. Transfer it to your mobile?" _L nodded, and almost instantly his personal phone rang.

"Yagami-san, that was you who drove through the station front, yes?" he asked, putting it on speaker for Light's now pale and shaky benefit.

"_Yes. I am sorry for being reckless, but..._"

"Dad! That was genius! Absolutely idiotic considering your health, but the idea was flawless!" Light said, voice slightly hitched. L wondered briefly if the panic was entirely attributable to his father's condition, but pushed that away for analysis later.

"_Is that Light there?_" Soichiro asked, sounding shocked.

"I will explain everything when you get back to headquarters," L said calmly. "Where exactly are you?"

"_I'm just inside the station, I don't think I can use the bus to get out. I've gotten the tapes, all copies of them._"

L frowned, plans forming in his mind. He held up Aizawa's phone in his other ear. "Takimura-san, Yagami-san was the one who drove through the building. How many officers have helped with the barricade?"

"_About two hundred, I put them all into action to help. Ide-san is particularly concerned, he drove out on his day off to help._"

"I need a way to get Yagami-san out safely. I assume your officers are willing to help?"

"_Yes_."

"Then have them build a small wall with their vehicles and their person, also make sure their faces are concealed. If Ide-san is so keen on helping, have him escort Yagami-san out of the building. How soon can you have all of this done?"

"_Ten minutes at the most_."

"Thank you, Takimura-san. I will inform him of this." He turned to the other phone. "Come out of the building in ten minutes, Yagami-san."

"_Ten minutes_?"

"Yes. Come directly here, someone will attend to your needs. After that, I do not think returning to the hospital would be your best choice."

"_I understand_."

They hung up at the same time, and L returned Light's bewildered stare. "What?" he asked, simply.

Out in the city, NHN news network came back on. As the only news network left online, the screen was played all over the city. L smiled as it came back online, the man onscreen showing quiet conviction in both his stance and his tone.

"_My name is Tanakabara Kouki. Kira, you are evil. Kill me if you will, but that will simply prove it. Tanakabara Kouki. I am not afraid, Kira. The police will not cooperate._ _Tanakabara Kouki._"

L smiled, noting Light's frown.

-~-

**AN:** This is so...long. Wow. Holy crap muffins.

Tanakabara Kouki is so kick ass.


	8. Analyze

**AN:** Do not own. First glimpse of some _maybe_ pairing here. _Maybe_. Mostly just an awkward question from Light in an attempt to pry information. You saw nothing.

-~-

**Everything  
8: Analyze**

-~-

L and Light sat there, almost catatonic, as they watched (more of listened, really, watching the letters K-I-R and A got boring after a while) the other tapes Soichiro had thankfully provided. The middle-aged detective was resting now, in the hotel bed not twenty feet away. He had fought sleep valiantly for almost an hour as Light and L explained the situation to him, but his body simply couldn't take it and he fell into a dreamland.

As the fourth and final tape came to a close, L and Light turned to look at each other. Aizawa was the only other human remaining fully awake, Matsuda, while present, seemed more zombie than human. "What does Light-kun think of this development?" L asked blankly, drawing the startled attention from Aizawa and Matsuda.

Light bit his lip slightly and his eyes slid to the side. "I think this person is most certainly not the Kira we were dealing with initially. Though this person possesses the ability to kill people, they most certainly do not require a name to kill, are wholly too unconfident, and perhaps most importantly, seem frankly stupid."

L nodded, understanding each and every word. They were almost along the lines of exactly what he had been thinking. "This Kira most likely looks up to the original Kira, as something of a mentor. Indeed, they seem to be using this as some sort of twisted way to endear themselves to the original Kira, and perhaps elicit some sort of response from their idol."

He watched Light's eyes fall out of focus for a moment and fall towards the floor as he considered it. "...what makes you think that, Ryuuzaki? Ah, Ryuuga?" A brief pause, and L took his own turn to consider, but Light interrupted. "Which alias do you prefer?" Light asked, honest curiousity twinkling in sepia-toned eyes.

"I will answer to both, but you may call me Ryuuzaki." A gnarled thumb was brought to his lips, and he tasted the blood on it for the eighth time that day as reflex took over and he captured the thumbnail between his teeth. "Well, if I was Kira, I would be practically enraged at this outright stupidity. This second Kira gives us so many things to come by, and thus far seems to be acting of their own accord to contact Kira. If I was Kira, I would leave this impostor to their own devices, where they would undoubtedly become too dysfunctional to work properly, if it weren't for the fact that this second Kira seems able to kill without a name. Almost certainly, seeing as they did not request L's name, merely for him to make a televised appearance."

L looked skyward, as was his custom when deep in thought and his mouth was already occupied. "The first Kira's intelligence combined with the second Kira's ability to kill without a name would be a truly formidable force. However, they would have to make contact, which is the second Kira's endgame."

Light uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. This was something L was quickly learning to watch for, it seemed to be the body language Light had the hardest time controlling. "Yes, but what if the first Kira does not respond? Why would he, really, he seems to be getting along just fine without the help of another person. Another person would really just make things more complicated, and make it easier for L to track down the Kiras."

"Light-kun is correct in his assumption, but there is a decent reason that Kira would respond to such a brainless imitator. Think about just how much information this false Kira revealed in a mere two hours." He watched as Light thought over it, leaning into his face, the better to watch his eyes flicker as new ideas and thoughts occurred to him. In approximately a minute, Light's eyes widened.

"The second Kira could reveal something about the way the original Kira kills, which would make it infinitely easier for L or anyone, really, to track them down. Kira's supernatural methods are perhaps his greatest trump card." L barely, literally _barely_ caught the flash of something dark across Light's face. A brief glare, narrowing of the eyes, pupils contracting just enough..."It all, really, boils down to L..."

L grinned to himself, wondering if it would be too difficult to persuade his main suspect that he might...just _might_ know L's real name. "He will be discouraged to know this," L muttered, intentionally making it seem as if his words were not for Light's ears. Light perked up ever so slightly, just enough that L could pass it as an intentional gesture.

"How is L involved in this Task Force, anyway?" Light asked, glancing towards the computer. "You talked to him earlier to show Takimura, but he's been so quiet otherwise..." L threw a meaningful look back at the monitor, which flickered in an almost happy-go-lucky way as it displayed the "L" insignia.

"I've met L. He does not like to talk to people directly, which is why he sent me. He believes our thought processes and minds are equivalent enough that I can handle the main portions of this investigation on my own with minimal guidance from him." L leaned back, thumb at his lips, allowing Light to make what he wanted of this. If he was Kira, he would probably look for a way to exploit this, but not without double checking just _how_ close to L Ryuuzaki really was. But, this was as usual only a behaviour thing.

So far, all he had was that Light's personality fit Kira's almost perfectly. That was almost nothing to go on, though, because frankly, L's own personality also fit Kira's. L as Kira would be almost impossible to defeat, for anyone on the outside. L threw a glance Light's way, and rephrased his thoughts. Kira, as _L_, would be more impossible.

Light made a small movement. "So you and L are...colleagues? Are there really two geniuses behind the L alias?" His eyebrows were raised in what seemed to be honest curiousity, but only L knew for sure that there was more behind it. Even if Light wasn't Kira, he was a genius with insatiable curiousity, and he was still barely treading water with this conversation.

"One could say that," he said, honestly weighing each and every word. "Personally I believe I work under him." The lies slipped naturally off of his tongue, Light would only be able to detect the slight change in pulse if he was right near the detective, invading his bubble for his own nefarious purposes.

"Are you two...uh..." Light glanced down, face heating up rapidly, and L wondered just how awkward the question would be that it would cause that sort of response. "You know, ah...together?"

-~-

It was undoubtedly the most embarrassing question Light Yagami had ever asked another man. "Are you with another man?" But that was as intimate as it could get, and if Ryuuzaki said _yes_...he would almost certainly know L's true name. How could two passion-entangled lovers live without knowing the names of the other?

As it were, Ryuuzaki lowered his head and Light noted the blush tingeing his cheeks. "I would like to neglect answering that question, Light-kun," he said softly, glancing at Light with a now level expression. The only difference between this look and the one that had loomed over his shoulder at the To-Oh acceptance ceremony was that this time around, Ryuuzaki looked more alive, with the soft pink coloring his cheeks rosy colors.

"Sorry, Ryuuzaki...kun. Just curious." Ryuuzaki chose to ignore the honorific with grace, just as Light had. Granted, his grace was nothing compared to Light's, but still.

Mind flying a mile a minute, Light put together Ryuuzaki's facial gestures and tones, attempting to distinguish the true from the false. A blush couldn't be faked, so he had been embarrassed by the question, but was he embarrassed because he _was_ in a relationship with L, or because Light was insinuating that he was gay?

Matsuda interrupted his musings by tripping over a stray cord and faceplanting maybe a centimeter away from Light's shoes. "Oooow," he muttered quietly, before struggling to his feet.

Light crossed his arms. "Matsuda-san, don't you think you should go to sleep?" A garbled mush of Japanese and Mandarin was his response. Curiously, Ryuuzaki asked Matsuda something in Mandarin, it sounded like _'ni hui shuo zhong wen ma_?' to Light's untrained ears, but Matsuda nodded so it was probably a simple question anyway. Ryuuzaki spoke up again, this time in a more tender monotone. '_Ni ying gai chu shuijiao.'_

A shake of the head from Matsuda, and then a yawn and stretch. "No, I'm fine," he said softly, before his eyes drooped shut and he collapsed to the floor.

"Clearly," Light muttered. "Shouldn't we all be going home and sleeping?" Light then asked, glancing around at the two other awake men in the room. One was chugging coffee, the other biting the heads off of cookies shaped like pandas. The former shrugged, and continued guzzling. The latter blinked up at Light, an as-of-yet to be beheaded cookie partially to his mouth.

"Light-kun can go to bed if he so wishes, I will remain awake."

Light stared blankly, honestly shocked. "You fell asleep at school today, Ryuuzaki-kun. You'll _need_ sleep, or you'll probably finally fall asleep during something important." Ryuuzaki looked almost...affronted? Just for a moment, there was something in the tilt of his chin and the set of his eyes that made him look defensive. Just for a moment though, Light might have been hallucinating. It was near two in the morning.

"Light-kun saw what happened when I fell asleep earlier. I need time to recover my thoughts before quelling them again, or the same thing should happen again, which is something I certainly do not want." The bloody thumb was brought to his lips, and he gently pulled at the damaged skin with his teeth. "I am sorry that those actions were among those that create your impression of myself. That could not have been enjoyable."

As would be expected from anyone not a sadist, Light shook his head. Even though he _had_ enjoyed it. "That was creepy, Ryuuzaki-kun. But still, going too long without sleeping is a bad thing. You'll get hallucinations." At this, Ryuuzaki smiled slightly, and Light noticed that he was already growing better at faking his facial expressions.

"Better hallucinations that are not terrifying to what I generally experience." Light wondered what he meant, but was distracted by the wild-haired man standing up. He still hadn't changed his shirt, the cuffs were caked in red, and Light tried to keep his eyes from the man's lost life essence...and relatively failed. However, Ryuuzaki apparently saw it as natural to stare (which it _was_, but still), and ignored Light almost effortlessly. "Light-kun has permission to remain in the hotel room over the night, it is dark out and you have nobody to escort you, as your father is asleep."

Light nodded slowly, weighing his options. The digital clock on the nightstand proudly proclaimed that it was past one in the morning, and though crime had decreased significantly, there was still a pretty good chance he could be attacked. He would have to walk, as well, unless Ryuuzaki offered to drive him.

He wasn't sure he would take that offer, no matter the circumstances.

"I think I'll take that offer, Ryuuzaki-kun." He liked the feel of the name Ryuuzaki better than Ryuuga. It suited him better, the name Hideki Ryuuga instantly caused the association with the pop idol. Ryuuzaki was an anonymous name, one that he had no knowledge on, and could therefore segregate a single part of his mind to. "Can I sleep on the couch?"

Ryuuzaki glanced at the couch, one end of which was piled high with videotapes. "Sure, Light-kun."

It took ten minutes to clear the couch of all things sharp and made of plastic, but it was worth it once Light's head was resting on a throw pillow and a spare blanket was wrapped around his shoulders. At this point, his sleep-evading abilities were more than used up, and though Ryuuzaki and Aizawa were still going strong--though the former had the sludgy sugar-coated excuse for tea probably helped--he couldn't help but start drifting into a dreamland.

"Hey, Ryuuzaki-kun?" he heard himself mutter sleepily with his eyes closed. The clackity-clack of the keyboard, which Light hadn't actually noticed until it stopped, vanished, and the quiet monotone voice made a strange noise of acknowledgment. "Good night." What? Why did it matter? Light put his strange actions up to sleepiness, which of course it simply had to be.

He also attributed what Ryuuzaki said next to the same cause.

"Good night Light-kun. Sweet dreams."

-~-

**AN:** If you can pick out where I took a break and read half of _Frankenstein_, you win a cookie. Ze plot reappears in the next chapter. Ryuuzaki-kun.


	9. Morning People

**AN:** No own.

Wanna know what happened? It's called pneumonia, in addition to overprotective distant relatives _ensuing_ that being bedridden is a very followed rule. Hell, they stayed for the sole purpose of keeping me in bed.

I quote: "Looking at a computer screen for too long will hurt your eyes, which will hurt your sinuses, which will make you worse! Get back to bed!"

-~-

**Everything  
9: Morning People**

-~-

L was not a morning person. Neither was Soichiro Yagami, Touta Matsuda, or apparently Light Yagami. L reflected on this unfortunate fact as Aizawa entered, despite having gotten a whopping three hours of sleep last night, with a huge grin on his face.

Shuichi Aizawa was a morning person. Surrounded by four others who weren't, and several other very sleepy associates who were on neutral ground as to whether they preferred mornings or nights. Granted, L had not slept, but he sorely wished to. What he had told Light was true, however, and he needed to get the nightmares out of his system. What Light told him also was true--L was probably about to fall asleep and start drooling all over the reports.

The chaos of the previous night still reigned supreme in the hotel room, the covers on the bed were strewn about randomly, a blanket was still hanging off the edge of the couch, and a computer was on its side due to an extremely out of it Light tripping on the cord and nobody having bothered to clean it up. At some point in the night, L had gotten tired of walking a foot to throw away the candy wrappers and simply left them to form an army to take over the desk, which they were now doing valiantly and with much enthusiasm. The curtains were hastily thrown shut by a pointedly sun-averting Matsuda, who had the beginnings of a migraine.

L sympathized with him as he rubbed his own temples. He blamed the second Kira. It was easier to simply blame the second Kira. At least Aizawa had brought donuts with him...donuts made the day somewhat worth looking forward to.

He contemplated the chances of getting away with sleeping through the morning report. They were not very high, despite the fact that he slept with his eyes open and if necessary could remain in his normal position. Firstly, he would probably have one of the night terrors, secondly, his input was generally something regularly given, and finally, if he went to sleep there was a good chance that the Task Force would not get another peep out of him for another six hours.

"We're supposed to be at school, Ryuuzaki-kun," Light said suddenly at roughly nine in the morning. "What if the teachers notice we're not there?"

To this, L shrugged. Aizawa, in all of his morning person glory, grinned, punched Light on the shoulder. "Perk up, you don't have to be at school! Isn't that a good thing?"

Light yawned and stretched, L noticed this and mimicked him. It was a good thing to stretch somewhat regularly, he had learned. He felt less curled up, and less inclined to let himself shut the world out and get the damned _sleep_ he so desired. Though he may have dozed off for a few minutes here and there during the night, once immediately after he wished Light sweet dreams.

He wished he had sweet dreams...but no, his dreams never made sense. Light didn't deserve to be put through that, nobody should.

"Well, if I'm going to be sacrificing my accreditation, I'd like to be helping with something." Light looked at L expectantly, who returned his gaze with a slightly sleepier than usual blank look. His thoughts were mildly sluggish at the moment, they were only about twice as quick as those of an average Harvard graduate.

"If Light-kun would like to transcript the Kira videos into text and highlight those lines that are of interest to him, it would be a great help. Other than that, there is little to do but...wait. For Kira to make his or her move in retaliation, or for him not to." Light nodded, and then stole a sip of his father's coffee when he was looking away.

"Ryuuzaki-kun, if Kira were to make his move, would it not be after the second Kira makes another appearance? Think about it, what would you do if you were Kira?" Light stole another sip, and then seemed to decide it would be better to get his own cup. He drank it black. L wondered how he managed it before returning to the task at hand.

"If I were Kira..." L mused. "If I were Kira, I would attempt to meet this threat and eradicate it as quickly as possible. Without the resources to do so, however, I would wait to see just how much of a liability this impostor really is before taking any measures that would make it easier for someone to track me."

Light nodded. "It would make more sense for Kira to wait a little bit longer. And considering that the TV stations are not about to air these tapes that were sent with the original, the first Kira would not know just how much information the second Kira is able to reveal."

Most of the Task Force was watching them talk at this point. Aizawa's morning cheer seemed to have finally worn off, and it looked like he had remembered that Ukita had died, for he was looking at the empty computer almost wistfully.

"There is not much to do either way. You may go back to school if you so desire." L turned to his computer screen, the black expanses of which were decidedly not telling him anything. "We can not make any moves until the first Kira makes a move, apart from go over the evidence testing results for the tapes, which I have already done."

At this, Light straightened. "You did what?"

The rest of the Task Force had not heard this yet, either. Had such a course not made itself obvious to them early on? "Evidence test, Light-kun. Examining the hairs and such that clung to the tapes. There were several long bleached blond hairs and a few naturally very dark brown hairs of an average length. No complete fingerprints, but they were all of one set. One of the two people who was working on it seemed to be taking extra measures to ensure that their fingerprints were not present."

The team nodded in understanding, but it was Light who asked the next question. "Did you run a DNA test on the hair?"

L kept from smiling with practiced ease. Of course he had, the only reason he wouldn't was if it was if the circumstances rendered such an action completely impossible. "Yes, Light-kun. There were no results. And if there were, I assure you that you and the rest of the team would have been awoken much earlier."

With a sigh, Light spun his chair around and leaned back in it. "Well, as much as I hate to sound my age, I don't want to go to school today."

"Nobody can berate you for that, Light-kun. School has probably been the most boring experience of your life, considering your intelligence." Light's lips pulled into a smile at one side, but his eyes were cold and hard. It was easy to imagine why. The one brief year of formal schooling L experienced was a nightmare. The other children were cruel and cared only for themselves, and they saw L as a threat to their meagerly established social quo. L had nothing to do except read while the teacher spoke, but the other students saw it fit to burn his books. Every last thing he tried was torn away from him to attempt to make him conform. And that was without the bullying for his peculiar appearance and movements, which Light was blessed with a lack of.

"Yeah," Light said softly.

-~-

It wasn't that Light hated school. It was just that it served no purpose for him. All he had ever truly learned was how to write, which had taken him a time to master because he had trouble gripping his pen for the first few years. He gripped it the way Ryuuzaki seemed to grip everything, with two fingers held tightly together.

No purpose at all, school had no purpose, and he was given no purpose through school. Unless one counted finding the Death Note on a school campus as being given a purpose. Light did not, he saw it as a mere coincidence that maybe a had the slightest hint of forethought from Ryuk. School did nothing for him but introduce him to society, and teach him how to act.

Then again, that may have been his greatest asset. Apart, of course, from the Death Note. But Ryuuzaki could see straight through his acting, his lies. So it seemed, at any rate.

And he stayed. He watched as Ryuuzaki quite suddenly fell into a deep sleep, undisturbed by those bothersome nightmares, though Light was honestly quite disappointed by this. Ryuuzaki was so much more satisfying when he was bleeding, when he was digging his teeth into his own flesh.

Light Yagami had a morbid streak. He blamed Ryuk and his horror-movie-esque features.

Said Shinigami was looming in the corner, occasionally moving to watch over the members of the Task Force and on occasion wailing out what may have been drinking songs. An old man, claiming to be Ryuuzaki's assistant, came in at one point to wrap a blanket around the man. Ryuk started laughing hysterically once the older man left, and Light risked a few moments to spare a glare for the immature immortal.

As Ryuuzaki had said, there really wasn't much to do. Eventually it came to willing a stray cup of cold coffee to return to heat with his mind, and after two minutes of that he contented himself with browsing through the case files. He gave the task of coffee-heating to Matsuda, who took it with excitement and vigor.

Most of the case files had been restricted to Ryuuzaki or his father, so Light found absolutely nothing useful. He closed all of the windows and leaned back in the chair he was now content to claim as his, before glancing to the side and noticing that Ryuuzaki was staring quite avidly at him.

"...what?" Light asked nervously, wondering what he had done to deserve that stare. Perhaps the strange man was still asleep. At least Ryuuzaki's mouth was closed, if it were open Light would have been distinctly more uncomfortable. He had once caught a girl staring at him, mouth open, and she followed him home that day. The thought of Ryuuzaki doing the same was absolutely disconcerting.

Ryuuzaki shook his head, not blinking, and regarded Light with a slightly less creepy stare. "We should engineer a false reply," he said in that utterly apathetic monotone.

Light considered it. A "false" reply, and if he was involved, it most certainly would not be as false as Ryuuzaki supposed it would be. From Ryuuzaki's perspective, it also worked out well for the team. A false reply would either convince the second Kira to respond, or get the original Kira to come out against the false investigation-spawned Kira. "That's a good idea, Ryuuzaki. It will draw one of the Kiras out for more information."

"Wait, what?" Aizawa asked, glancing up from his own coffee mug. Matsuda, so far unsuccessful in his pyrokinetic endeavor, also looked up, and all other men in the room turned their attention to the youngest. So Light assumed, at any rate. Ryuuzaki looked maybe twenty years old.

"A false reply," Ryuuzaki repeated absently, looking heavenward and bringing a thumb to his lips, absently drawing the blanket tighter around his shoulders. The task force continued giving him looks that portrayed their confusion, so Light intervened.

"The investigation team sends a false reply, posing as the original Kira, to the second Kira. Either the first Kira will come out with his own response to belay that of the investigation's, or the second Kira will respond and give us more information. Either way, it is a good score for us." The task force now seemed at least able to understand, so Light turned to Ryuuzaki, carefully setting a different plan in motion.

"I think we should allow Sakura TV to play the tape that was to be played should the police not cooperate. Otherwise the second Kira may become suspicious, and besides, the real Kira most likely would wait until he knows what the second Kira's plan is," he said, putting on his thoughtful face. It required unfocusing the eyes slightly, pursing the lips just a little bit, and bringing the eyebrows close together. This way he could attempt to orchestrate L's death...

Ryuuzaki nodded blankly. "Light-kun is correct. We should. Also...Light-kun should probably write the response."

At this, Light was not sure whether to be enthusiastic or to be cautious. With Ryuuzaki, it was hard to tell what would make him more suspicious. Thankfully, Light's father intervened before that became an issue. "Why Light? Why not one of the other task force members, or yourself?"

Ryuuzaki sighed patiently, though Light could have sworn he saw a spark of irritation flicker in ashen eyes. "Out of all of us, Light-kun and myself are most similar personality-wise to Kira. We need to make the response believable. As to why I can not do it, I simply am not eloquent in any form and possess the charisma of a small boulder. It would be more beneficial for us if Light-kun wrote it."

Light didn't miss the veiled accusation.

As annoying as it was, this man, Ryuuzaki, was _good_.

-~-

**AN:** Updates will be more regular now, but still kinda scarce, at least until I kick these people out of my _house_...


End file.
